The Osceola times., 1887-09-24
WOMAN'S DEPARTMENT.
SHALL OUR WOMEN voTEq
Prejudice the Real source Of the Many
Objections Made Against Women Not-

From the speech Of Oliver Z. Branch,
of Weare. delivered in the New Hamp-
shire Legislature, August 2, 1887, in
support of bill to give women SUI
frage in town and city elections. the
following is taken:
well" says gallant. chivalric
Conservatism. "if women vote they
should do military duty, should they
not?n Certainly. il the necessities OF
the State require But what logical
connection is there between voting
and fighting? Not the slightest The
State demands the services OF men In
time of war; not because they vote, but
because they are able-bodied and are,
| of all citizens, the best fitted for that
particular work, just as the State se'
lects its judges and magistrates, not
because they vote, but because they
are fitted by training in the law to do
that kind Of service. 1t exempts GER
tain of its voters from military duty be-
cause they are not able-bodied.
The whole philosophy Of service in
the State is based upon the idea OF
special fitness. 1t does not arise out
of any miserable, pick-lhank idea of a
bargain and barter over the right to
vote. But, gentlemen, in times OF
war, women have ever borne their
part, rs effectively. as heroically. as
men. There are no more thrilling
pictures of military achievement than
! those in which women are the central
figures. Boadieea hurting the hordes
of her native Barbarians upon the
trained and disciplined legions of
Rome; Joan Of Arc, turning back the
tide of English invasion. while de.
jected and ilabby King looked on in
gaping wonder; Maria Theresa. who,
when the Great Frederick was threat
cning her throne and kingdom. ne
Maeaulny describes the scene, erode
after the fashion Of her fathers up the
Mount of Defiance. unsheathed the
ancient sword Of state. shook 1t north
and south, east and west, and, with u
glow on her pale face, challenged the
four corners of the world to dispute
her rights and those Of her boy
these are examples Of what leadership
and prowcss women can disclose when
the cXigencics Of war demand them.
The women of England who fitted out
the Relief Expedition during the
Crimean war-Florencc Nightingale
and her associates. who. while the
drowsy Home Office was Houndering
through the tangle Of circumlocution
and red-tape, marched straight into
the hospitals at Scutaria and brought
order and cleanliness out of chaos
and filth-did as much for the success
of English arms in that war as all the
dignified secretaries and clerks in Lon
don, or as Lord Raglan who conducted
the winter campaign upon the bleak
and frozen heights of Crim-Tartary.
The women of the North who did
the work Of the Christian Commits
sion during the late war; the women
North and South who. while their
hearts were breaking, scraped the lint
and rolled the bandages and knit
the socks, who glided like angels Of
mercy into noisomc hospitals and
wards where death brooded and sol
diers lay dying bringing cheer and
consolation and comfort in their
hands. these were as heroic. as valiant,
rs useful servants Of the State, as the
men who bore the flags and fired the
guns. God help us If the time shall
ever come when the State or Nation
shall need the services Of its women
citizens in the field of war! but q the
tmes shall ever come. they will be
ivaad ready to do their duty whether
they vote or not. [Applause.J
The fact in, gentlemen. in its last
analysis the real and only objections
that can be made against woman's suf-
frage are those which arise out Of
! prejudice. We are like the deacon
who was lamenting the growth Of her.
esy in his church and the consequences
/ which would follow certain unorthodox
ideas. Said he: If we give up the
( idea Of the fall ST man we must give
I up original sin. II we abandon origi-
nal sin. We must give up the atone
ment; if we give up the atonement, we
shall have to let foreordination and
election slide; and If they 20. then
don't see but what every body will be
saved. Brethren, let us hope for bet
ter things" So when we abandon the
Greek and Roman ideas of woman's
inferiority. we find that we must aban-
/ don the claim that she is not our men,
tai equal. When we concede that, we
are forced to admit that she has the
proper qualifications to vote; and il we
admit that, then every body will have
/ the right to vote and hold office; and
we can only say: Brethren, let us
/ hope for better thingsv' Seriously,
has not the time come when we may
safely abandon the social orthodoxy
and political calvinism, to which we
have so long clung, and may try to get
along with the Bill of Rights and the
Declaration of Independence?
| Kansas Women Voters.